We live in a world with sayings like “go big or go home,” “think big” and “too big to fail.” But what if bigger isn’t better? What if having a one-track mind isn’t a bad thing? The truth is that it’s not. And the 80-20 rule proves it.
One saying that is true comes from Tony Robbins himself, and that is, “Whatever you consistently think about and focus upon you move toward.” No one wants to spend their life being pulled in a hundred directions at once, feeling like they never have any time. And when you leverage the 80-20 rule, you don’t have to.
Are your efforts moving you forward or just keeping you busy?
The 80-20 rule is the principle that 20% of what you do results in 80% of your outcomes. Put another way, 80% of your outcomes result from just 20% of your inputs. Also known as the Pareto principle, the 80-20 rule is a timeless maxim that’s all about focus. Because so much of your output is determined by a relatively small amount of what you do each day, focusing on the most productive tasks will result in greater output.
The Pareto principle comes from the mind of Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who first introduced it in 1906. But it is Joseph Juran, a business theorist, who is credited with popularizing the idea and relating it to business situations during the 1940s. This is why the 80-20 rule is usually used in business, but you can also apply it to your personal goals, like finances and spending or even learning a new skill.
The 80-20 rule requires you to throw out a few time-honored myths about productivity. First, the myth that everything matters equally – it doesn’t. Break down that wall and prioritize. Second, the myth of multitasking: When you try to focus on everything at once, you end up not focusing on anything at all.
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Time is the currency of achievement – but some people seem to cash in their time for more achievement than others. Why is it that they’re able to do more with their time than the rest of us?
Tony says, “One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power.” The 80-20 rule is one way of explaining – and overcoming – this very common problem. When you understand the answer to the question “What is the 80 20 rule?,” you’ll understand that high achievers don’t have fewer obligations, more help from others or better luck. They have more focus.
Gary Keller, founder of real estate giant Keller Williams, literally wrote the book on the Pareto principle. The ONE Thing is all about how to stop the thieves that steal your time and keep you from achieving your dreams. “The moon is reachable if you prioritize everything and put all of your energy into accomplishing the most important thing,” Keller says. But, “Extraordinary success is sequential, not simultaneous.”
RPM isn’t time or task management—it’s life design. Gain the clarity, momentum, and tools to take control and design a life on your terms.
You can’t use the 80-20 rule to your advantage unless you know what it is you want to focus on. How do you cut out all the background noise and zero in on that 20% that’s going to make an extraordinary difference in your life? Follow this equation: Purpose + Priority = Productivity.
Start with your purpose
Your purpose is the foundation of everything in your life or in your business. Every time you make a decision or a change, ask yourself, “Does this serve my purpose?” If you don’t know your purpose, you can’t create goals or take action. It’s that important.
Your purpose could be something like having more time with your family, the freedom to live life on your terms or the money to travel the world. In business, your purpose is your company vision. It’s the reason you started the business in the first place. It’s the difference you wanted to make in the world. When you apply the 80-20 rule the right way, you start off thinking big – but not for long.
Narrow down your priorities
Now it’s time to get more specific: What’s holding you back from living your purpose, whether in life or in business? Maybe you need to finally take the leap and start your own business. Maybe you need to save money for that down payment on a home. As a business leader, you may need to find or create new efficiencies or improve your processes.
Write down five things you could start doing today to help you build the extraordinary life you want – one in which you get to live your purpose every day. Then prioritize them by how fast they will get you to your goal. The top item – the most meaningful – is your first priority.
Create action items
You’re not done yet. Priorities are nice, but they’re not enough to get you over the finish line. You need to create SMART goals: steps you can take that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and anchored within a Time Frame. Then you need to hold yourself accountable to them. These specific action items are the real 20% of the 80-20 rule – the things you’ll spend 20% of your time doing that will yield the best results.
One example of this is the “Dream 100,” a concept from marketer, consultant and sales powerhouse, Chet Holmes. Create a list of the top 100 people you want to work with or gain as clients and rank them by level of importance. Then start targeting them – and don’t stop. Put all of your focus on those 100 people. It will be worth it when you start bringing them in.
Master Your Focus, Master Your Life—The Power of the 80/20 Rule
In the relentless rush of today’s world, the loudest voices push us to “go big” and “do it all.” But here’s the brutal truth I’ve learned over decades of coaching champions and world leaders: Bigger isn’t better. Focus is. As I always say, “Whatever you consistently think about and focus upon, you move toward.” Your destiny is shaped not by doing more, but by doing what matters most—laser-focused, with all your heart and soul.
The 80/20 rule is the master key to unlocking this focused power. It teaches us that just 20% of our efforts produce 80% of our results. Most of us are scattered, chasing a hundred distracting tasks that dilute our energy and steal our progress. The winners, the game-changers, refuse to fall into that trap. They ruthlessly prioritize their highest-impact actions and let go of the rest.
Think about Gary Keller’s wisdom in The ONE Thing: “Extraordinary success is sequential, not simultaneous.” You don’t have to conquer everything today—you have to conquer the one thing that drives your purpose forward fastest.
Your purpose is the bedrock. Your priority is the compass. Productivity, then, is the journey fueled by deliberate, massive action. It’s not complicated. It’s powerful. It’s transformational.
I’ve seen overwhelmed leaders go from chaos to clarity the moment they apply the 80/20 rule. One CEO cut his endless 12-hour days in half and doubled his business in a year by focusing only on the few activities that truly mattered. Imagine what that kind of focus could do for your life—your relationships, your health, your legacy.
Stop believing the myth that multitasking or doing more equals success. Stop sacrificing your results for busyness. Decide today: I am going to find the 20% that propels me 80% forward—and give it everything I’ve got.
This is your power play. This is your breakthrough.Remember, “If you want to be successful, find out where others are wasting time and money, and intervene.” Start that intervention now. Align your purpose, narrow your priorities, commit to your biggest leverage points—and watch your life explode with extraordinary results.
Focus isn’t just a strategy—it’s a lifestyle. Own it. Live it. And as you do, remember: “The quality of your life is the quality of your focus.” Make yours count.
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